Thursday, November 07, 2002

Yesterday, I bought an audio book from Audible.com, downloaded it to my itty-bitty laptop, and burned it to CD-R (three of them, actually).  I started listening to it in my truck during my afternoon commute. This is significant in three ways: It was cheaper than the pre-packaged audio Cd (US$12 + three blank CD-Rs vs. US$25 retail). The version I ended up with is unabridged (vs. the pre-packaged audio Cd, which is). I didn't have to make a trip to the book store or wait for Amazon to deliver it. It's like my own miniature version of the Internet Bookmobile, except for audio books.   11:53:12 PM

What is... the essence of wi-fi? 11:19:52 PM

This wonderful wi-fi antenna appeared on the Screen Savers (the Nov. 4th episode, I think. With the PVR, I sometimes loose track of when a show actually aired). It looks like you can get one for arround $200-$300 bucks.  Not as much as I would have expected.  The Buffalo site states a maximum point-to-point range of 1.9 miles, when one is used on each end.  It's intended for use with their AirStation AP, so be warned: the FCC may not appreciate it if you hook this up to an Orinoco card and go wardriving with it. Alos, on the same show, Patrick demonstrated building an antenna out of a Pringles can (been done) and also out of a big-assed coffee can (which was fairly groovy). 9:57:03 PM